One week to go until Investec Champions Cup season ignites

With only one week to go until the opening rounds of the 2025/26 EPCR season, anticipation is reaching fever pitch across Europe and South Africa as players from all 24 Investec Champions Cup clubs looked ahead to the season in London this week.

The Investec Champions Cup returns with Round 1 from 5-7 December, with renewed intensity, revived rivalries and world-class talent - and the opening weekend promises to deliver plenty of action from the first whistle.

Across both the Investec Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup, this season spans 114 matches, and momentum is building. This week, all Investec Champions Cup clubs gathered for the official Season Launch, bringing players, pundits, international media and broadcast partners together to preview the coming months. With stars from all 24 clubs – which this season include 10 former champions who share 25 Champions Cup titles between them – sharing insights, ambitions and rivalries, the countdown to kick-off is now very real.

And the opening round wastes no time in delivering some of the most compelling fixtures.

Investec Champions Cup – Round 1 Highlights

English, Scottish, French and South African fans are in for a treat with two big matches kicking off the season on Friday 5 December, as Sale Sharks host Glasgow Warriors and Aviron Bayonnais welcome DHL Stormers.

Looking to the season ahead with big ambitions, the Stormers' Deon Fourie said: “It’s a great competition and it’s always special to play away at these great European stadiums. We're playing against quality sides with international stars.

We’ve tasted the quarter-finals before, so to get into a semi-final is the goal. For me, the most difficult game is always the semi-final; if you win that you’re in the Final and anyone can win that. So, the goal is to get into that semi-final.”

Reigning champions Union Bordeaux Bègles travel to face Vodacom Bulls on 6 December, while another cross-hemisphere battle sees European powerhouse and six-time Champions Stade Toulousain welcome the Hollywoodbets Sharks on 7 December in a return fixture.

Union Bordeaux Bègles’ Lachlan Swinton said: “There are going to be no easy matches. Especially travelling to South Africa in Round 1 – that will be very physical.

"It’s a very exciting opportunity to get away as a team. It brings everyone together from a tour perspective but there is also the challenge that we know the Bulls and South African rugby bring, which is a physical brand of rugby. It’s going to be a really interesting match. You’ve got the French brand and the South African brand colliding at the club level, in South Africa – it's going to be a pretty awesome experience for everyone, including the South Africans.

"I also think Saints in Round 3 is clealy going to a big rematch of last season’s final. I know they’ll have that one circled as well! It’s a big challenge.”

Last year’s runners up Northampton Saints open their campaign on Sunday 7 December with a trip away to Section Paloise. The French club return to the top tier for the first time in 25 years and are currently making waves in the TOP 14 in second place.

Northampton Saints Tom Lockett said: “We are a team that always look like we’re enjoying ourselves but we’ve become tough to beat over the last few seasons. We’ve got a pretty tough pool with Bordeaux and the Vodacom Bulls and away performances are going to be key. Bordeaux and their back three are pretty electric. We spoke about that a lot before the final last season and came out on the wrong side of it – so we’ll be focused on that again.”

Section Paloise’s Joel Kpoku is looking forward to the challenge ahead: “We'll take on the challenge of being the underdogs, we’re hugely excited about this competition and the challenge ahead. Being consistent in every game is key. The toughest test will probably be Saints next Sunday – that won’t be an easy match but we’re hugely looking forward to it as a club.”

Bath Rugby, who took a commanding EPCR Challenge Cup victory last season and are currently sitting second in the Gallagher Prem standings, will launch their season at home with a major clash against Munster Rugby, who are currently second in the URC.

Bath Rugby’s captain Ben Spencer said: “It was huge for us to get it over the line last year so we take a lot of confidence from that. We know Europe is a huge step up and we’re looking forward to challenging ourselves against the best players in the best club competition in the world.

“It's great to start at home. Saturday night against Munster and we’re really excited. The Rec is already sold out. The great thing about this competition is you play clubs that you don’t play every week. We’ve got two massive games away against the French clubs (RC Toulon and Castres Olympique), and they’ll be huge.”

Four-time winners and runners up between 2022 and 2024, Leinster Rugby begin their quest for their fifth star on Saturday evening at the Aviva Stadium against Harlequins.

EPCR’s UK and Irish broadcaster Premier Sports also attended the Season Launch, capturing pre-season hype as they gear up for their second year under the channel’s expert pundit team, featuring Lawrence Dallaglio, Chris Robshaw and John Barclay.

Dallaglio, said: “To go away from home to these big European stadiums with such big history and win is the unique challenge in this competition. It's a real test of everything about you as a player.”

Looking ahead to the new season, he added: “In the TOP 14 you can’t look much further than Toulouse and Bordeaux at the minute, they are playing very well. From the Irish sides Munster have got their mojo back and seem to be on a roll. Then I look at the Premiership. You look at Saints and Saracens. And hopefully when you win your domestic league the next step is to win the Investec Champions Cup, so it will be interesting to see if Bath go on and do that.

And who says you can’t get your name on the trophy for the first time – we saw it with Bordeaux last year. So for me, I'd say watch Bayonne as they also have a great squad.”

Reflecting on his experience, Robshaw said: “I remember when I was playing in this competition, to go abroad and play other teams outside of your league is very special. You get some of the toughest away experiences in the south of France, and Leinster is always a tough place to go. Those tough games that you travel to – and hopefully win - are all part of this competition and an important part of club history. They are special games.”

Making his predictions for the season ahead, Barclay said: “I think the teams with the depth in the squads will be hard to stop, particularly the South African teams. The Stormers have a number of players from the Springboks, and I think at some point – whether this year or next- it's going to be hard to look past them. Bath have a good amount of depth, and Toulouse are flying in the TOP 14. So, I quite fancy Bath or Saracens to pair up with Toulouse in the final stages of the competition.”